Structured intervention in family caregivers of the demented elderly and changes in their immune function

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a group structured intervention on the mental and physical discomfort and immune function of 20 family caregivers. A structured intervention for caregivers consists of five sessions, each of which lasts 90 min. This was a modified version of the program that had been originally developed for cancer patients. All the family caregivers were female and ranged in age from 47 to 66 years (mean: 54.7 +/- 4.4). The period of care at home ranged from 1 to 12 years (mean: 5.8 +/- 2.7). Concerning the original diseases of the care-receivers, 10 had vascular dementia and eight had Alzheimer's disease. Nine out of 20 caregivers had no care support, and seven utilized no public resources such as day-care centers. Only five caregivers felt that they were healthy. Two psychometries, that is, Profile of Mood States (POMS) and General Health Questionnaire-30 (GHQ-30) were administered and blood samples were drawn before and after intervention. Comparison of results showed that there was significant improvement (P < 0.05) in the scores of depression, anger-hostility, fatigue and confusion in the POMS, and physical symptoms, anxiety-mood disorder, suicidality-depression in the GHQ-30. Also, there was significant (P = 0.0325) augmentation of natural-killer cell activity. The present study suggests that this kind of intervention was effective for relieving emotional and physical discomfort, and also for improving immune function.     

Arteriovenous fistula and bone healing: experimental study in the rat

The incidence of fractures is greater in patients with hemodialysis than in the general population. Surgically created arteriovenous fistulas are widely used in end-stage renal failure patients for the vascular access of hemodialysis. Despite occurrence of fracture at the fistula site in the forearm, bone mineral density is similar in both arms. The effects of arteriovenous fistulas on fracture healing have not been widely studied. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that a fracture distal to a surgically-created arteriovenous fistula has negative effects in a rat osteotomy model. The tibial bones were fractured in a monocortical fashion bilaterally. No fixation method was used. The right side was used as control. On the left side of the rat, a side-to-side arteriovenous anastomosis was done between the common femoral vessels proximal to the fracture line under magnification with the operating microscope. Three weeks later, bone segments, including the monocortical osteotomy line, were removed and examined histopathologically. Although the gross appearance of callus formation was not different in both groups, histopathologically, there were more dead medullary bone and less cartilage cells around the osteotomy line in the bone associated with the arteriovenous fistula. But with short-term evaluation of the fracture sites after opening an arteriovenous connection proximal to the fracture site, no real difference was noted related to fracture healing.     

Semen cryopreservation for patients with malignant or non-malignant disease: our experience for 10 years

PURPOSE: We report our experience in 10 years of sperm cryopreservation to reveal the present state of the cryopreservation project. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 42 germ cell tumor, 110 non-germ cell tumor and 2 non-malignant disease patients who visited our clinic for semen cryopreservation were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Only 7 (20%) out of 35 unilateral testicular tumor patients who had received no chemotherapy met the WHO criteria for sperm concentration and motility. However, there were no patients with azoospermia. Three testicular tumor patients with previous chemotherapy and 4 retroperitoneal germ cell tumor patients had poor sperm concentrations and motilities. Twenty (52%) out of 38 non-germ cell tumor patients without previous chemotherapy met the WHO criteria. In contrast, only 9 patients (13%) met the WHO criteria among 72 patients with previous chemotherapy. Twenty-nine patients (40%) with chemotherapy were azoospermia. Totally, 74 (96%) of 77 tumor patients' semen without chemotherapy and 34 (45%) of 75 with chemotherapy were cryopreserved. Sperm from a patient with testicular torsion were cryopreserved. CONCLUSION: Most cancer patients without previous chemotherapy, regardless of underlying disease, had abundant motile sperm. However, half of the patients who had received chemotherapy did not have suitable sperm for freezing. It is important to inform young cancer patients of the cryopreservation project immediately after the diagnosis is made.     

Ventricular pseudo-false aneurysm after myocardial infarction; report of a case

A 72-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with chest discomfort and syncope. The echocardiography showed the left ventricular aneurysm. The coronary arteriography revealed a complete occlusion at distal portion of the right coronary artery and anterior aneurysm of the left ventricle was demonstrated. We diagnosed that it was false aneurysm because of communicating with the left ventricle through a small orifice. Surgical repair was carried out after resection of the aneurysm of the left ventricle. The postoperative course was uneventful and discharged on the 33rd day after surgery. Pseudo-false ventricular aneurysm of the left ventricle was diagnosed by histological examination.     

Overexpression of Phosphatidylinositol Synthase Enhances Growth and G1 Progression in NIH3T3 cells

Phosphatidylinositol (PI) turnover is thought to play an important role in the regulation of cell growth. PI synthase (PIS, cytidine diphosphate (CDP)-diacylglycerol (DG): myo -inositol 3–phos–phatidyltransferase, EC 2.7.8.11) acts at the last step in the de novo biosynthesis of PI by catalyzing the condensation of CDP-DG and myo -inositol. To study the physiological role of PIS, we established murine NIH3T3 fibroblasts that stably overexpress PIS, by transfection with PIS cDNA (NIH-PIS cells). In immunofluorescence assays, the constitutively overexpressed PIS was found to be localized in the endoplasmic reticulum, as previously reported for the native enzyme activity. NIH-PIS cells showed an increase in PI synthesis in vitro and in vivo , as well as increased cellular levels of PI–4,5–P₂ and PI–3,4,5–P₃. They also displayed a decrease in their doubling tune and accelerated G1 progression. Overexpression of PIS increased cellular levels of the cyclin D1 and E proteins and Akt kinase activity in serum-stimulated quiescent NIH3T3 cells. Moreover, PIS Overexpression potentiated the colony formation of NIH3T3 cells in soft agar. These results suggest that PIS accelerates G1 progression and stimulates growth by increasing cellular levels of cyclins D1 and E.     

Potent and selective ET-A antagonists. 2. Discovery and evaluation of potent and water soluble N-(6-(2-(aryloxy)ethoxy)-4-pyrimidinyl)sulfonamide derivatives

In the preceding article,(1) we outlined the discovery and structure-activity relationship of a potent and selective ET(A) receptor antagonist 1 and its related compounds. Metabolites of 1 having potent selective ET(A) receptor antagonist activity were identified. This study suggested the metabolic pathways of 1 were considerably affected by species. Consequently, structural modification of 1 intended to improve the complexity of the metabolic pathway, and water solubility was performed. The subsequent introduction of a hydroxyl group into the tert-butyl moiety of 1 led to the discovery of our new clinical candidate, 6b, which showed a higher water solubility, a uniform metabolic pathway among species, and very high affinity and selectivity for the human ET(A) receptor (K(i) for ET(A) receptor: 0.015 +/- 0.004 nM; for ET(B) receptor: 41 +/- 21 nM).     

Torsion of a benign cyst arising from the tunica vaginalis testis

We describe a rare case of torsion of a benign cyst originating from the parietal layer of tunica vaginalis. This case presented with acute scrotum. Surgical exploration revealed a cyst arising from the parietal layer of tunica vaginalis of which the pedicle was twisted. When a cystic mass is detected in the scrotum of boys with acute scrotum, torsion of a cyst in the cavum tunica vaginalis testis should be considered.     

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma arising in the buttock

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma is a rare sarcoma that accounts for about 1% of malignant soft tissue tumours. We report an very unusual case of a small-size extraskeletal osteosarcoma arising in the superficial subcutaneous region of the buttock. The patient was a 55 year-old female. She incidentally noticed a small nodule in the right trochanteric region. It was removed under local anesthesia at a private clinic. An additional wide excision was performed at our hospital. There was an 8 mm? 10 mm mass in the subcutaneous tissue. No invasion of the underlying fascia was observed. Microscopic examination of the removed tumour showed bizarre-looking spindle and giant cells with lace-like osteoid. The tumour was diagnosed as extraskeletal osteosarcoma. Chemotherapy with Rosen T-20 was administered to the patient. The patient has survived without recurrence or metastasis for 4 years since the primary surgery. Its superficial location, very small size, wide excision, and chemotherapy were thought to contribute to her long survival.     

Graves' disease associated with exophthalmos, cerebral ventricular dilatation and accelerated growth

A report is presented of a girl with Graves' disease, which was diagnosed at the age of 1.7 years. The mother had no thyroid disease. The patient developed signs of hyperthyroidism shortly before her first birthday, and the most prominent manifestations were accelerated skeletal maturation and linear growth, and dilatation of the brain ventricles. The latter manifestation, which has not been reported previously, was reversible upon normalisation of thyroid function with antithyroid treatment for three years.